christopher price

Camp confidential: Five up, five down for Patriots

FOXBORO -- Through the first four training camp practices of the summer for the Patriots, here are five players who have seen their stock rise, and five others who have stumbled:

Five Up

Marcus Cannon: Cannon has taken advantage of the fact that Dan Connolly has been extremely limited over the course of the first week and gotten the majority of reps at right guard with the starting offensive line. It’s only been two padded practices, but he has looked natural at the spot. At this point, Cannon figures to have the best shot at least being the primary backup at either guard spot, and if he continues to play well, could force the Patriots to make a decision on Connolly.

Kamar Aiken: The wide receiver, who was a practice squadder last year, has impressed in the first few days of camp, catching just about everything that’s come his way and looking at home when he’s had the chance to run with the starting offense. One other thing that’s really stood out about Aiken is the way his teammates -- particularly the other receivers -- talk about him, speaking about him in glowing terms as a pass catcher and a teammate. While he doesn’t have the most polished resume, his experience in the system last season (even on the practice squad) has clearly paid dividends through the first four days of camp.

Michael Hoomanawanui: Like Cannon, Hoomanawanui is another guy who has made the most of his opportunity. No Rob Gronkowski has meant more reps for all the tight ends -- particularly Hoomanawanui and Jake Ballard -- and Hoomanawanui has caught most of the passes that have been thrown in his direction. He’s also lined up frequently in the backfield as a fullback and lead blocker. He’s not Gronkowski, but his versatility and familiarity with the system give him a leg up when it comes to playing time.

(For what it’s worth, tight ends Daniel Fells and Zach Sudfeld have also done well in limited action to this point in camp. As is the case with Hoomanawanui, neither one has done anything especially flashy. Instead, they have distinguished themselves with steady and consistent play to this point in camp.)

Tom Brady: The quarterback has had his struggles -- a 2-for-5 performance in 11-on-11 passing the other day was punctuated by two batted balls, courtesy of the old J.J. Watt paddles in practice -- but mostly, the quarterback has looked pretty sharp through the first few days of camp as he continues to get used to a whole new group of receivers. At least outwardly, he’s been pretty patient about the whole acclimation process, particularly with the youngsters. We’ll see if that continues -- and if there are any Joey Galloway sort of meltdowns -- but to this point, it’s been all good.

Tommy Kelly: The veteran appears very comfortable slotted in at the defensive tackle spot opposite Vince Wilfork. He’s gotten most of the reps with the starting defense there -- some of that could be because the Patriots are relatively thin at the position, at least at this point in camp -- and has looked pretty good doing it. In the one-on-one drills, he’s appeared to be in command while going against some of the interior offensive lineman (he absolutely rag-dolled Chris McDonald in a one-on-one drill on Sunday). With Armond Armstead facing an uncertain future after a recent surgery, Kelly could see an even greater uptick in the reps as the preseason approaches.

Five Down

Dan Connolly: Connolly has been on the field with his teammates throughout the first week of camp, but has been extremely limited, and at least for now, has been supplanted in the starting lineup by Cannon. Tough start to the summer for the Southeast Missouri State product, who continues to work his way back from offseason shoulder surgery.

Ras-I Dowling: Starting his third year in the NFL -- his first two seasons ended with him on injured reserve -- the cornerback has slipped down the depth chart behind Aqib Talib and Alfonzo Dennard (and Kyle Arrington in the slot). At this point, he’s running with the second- and third-teamers, and needs a good performance if he wants to stay ahead of youngsters like Logan Ryan and Stephon Morris. On Monday night, he would have been flagged for pass interference after knocking a ball away from Matthew Slater, and on Sunday, he would have also drawn a flag for a PI while guarding Aiken. (One other thing worth mentioning is that Dowling has little special teams value when compared to some other corners at the back end of the depth chart, which could cause his stock to plummet every further.)

Stevan Ridley: It’s been an up-and-down start to the summer for Ridley, but he lands on this list because of his two-fumble performance during Sunday morning’s practice session. Unlike the rest of the players on this list, however, that stumble shouldn’t hurt his overall chances when it comes to playing time, as he figures to be the closest thing this team has to a lead back when the season begins.

Tim Tebow: Not to sound like we’re piling on, but the quarterback has appeared to struggle with some aspects of the Patriots system over his first week of camp, particularly when it comes to the speed of the New England practices. We have seen Tebow tuck and run in drills designed to see how quickly he can get the ball out to a receiver. There have been a few really nice passes, including one to receiver Quentin Sims in a passing drill on Monday night and a sweet delivery to Kenbrell Thompkins at the end of practice that went for a touchdown (probably his best throw of the summer.) But there have also been a few one-hop passes to receivers. As camp continues, it will be interesting to see how much work he could get in other areas, particularly special teams.

Kenbrell Thompkins: The rookie receiver out of Cincinnati has a rough practice Monday night, dropping a punt in special teams work and dropping a pass in one of his reps with the starting offense. He also couldn’t come up with a laser from Ryan Mallett in 11-on-11s, getting knocked off his spot by Dowling, and ran a bad route on a ball that ended up being picked off by Aqib Talib. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder has had a mostly good start, and he’ll certainly bear watching in the next day or two to see if he can bounce back the rest of the week after his struggles on Monday night.

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